April 16, 2004
Chinese Jia 'A' giants Dalian Shide are keen to become the 3rd foreign club to play in the S-League
The seven-time Chinese A Division champions are keeping close tabs on Sinchi TV, who are struggling in the S-League. Earlier in the week, Sinchi vice-chairman Wang Jinhui has vowed to withdraw his club from the league if they failed to improve on last year's performance.
Last season, Sinchi had targeted a top-four finish, only to end up in seventh spot while this season it has gotten worsen with them currently second from bottom in the S-League, with five losses from five matches.
If Sinchi do withdraw from the league, Dalian Shide want to come in as their replacement.
Dalian Shide general manager, Lin Lefeng say they are aware of Sinchi's situation in the S-League & if the time & situation is right, they would explored the possibility of playing in the S-League.
At the same time, he revealed that the interest of playing in the S-League was registered with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) way back in 2002 but it never worked out. After that they try to have some form of cooperation with Sinchi but again the plan failed.
So, if Sinchi are to withdraw after the current season, the time could be ripe for Dalian Shide to join the S-League.
Meanwhile S-League CEO Chan King Fook confirmed that preliminary talks with Dalian have begun.
He say the S-league welcome their interest & any other local clubs which wished to join but the league stability must come first so any changes must not affect the current size of the league
On rumours that Thai provincial club Chonburi were also interested to play in the S-League, Chan voiced his concern over their financial standing. He felt they must look at the financial model on how the club will sustain themselves before any moves can be make.
Chonburi is a Thai provincial club based in Thailand eastern province. The eastern Thai province is renowned for its football academy, which has nurtured many Thai youth internationals.
SAFFC general manager Kok Wai Leong, is sceptical about increasing the number of foreign clubs at the moment but he would only vote in favour if bringing them in does not mean downsizing the local pool again.
He felt the long-term solution should be to build up our local clubs rather than have a cosmopolitan league that nobody can identify with.